Uncertainty prevails over Zelensky-Putin meeting to resolve Ukraine war

WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) – Uncertainty prevails over a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky.

US President Donald Trump said he is uncertain whether Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s Vladimir Putin will meet soon to negotiate an end to the war, despite his repeated efforts to push for direct talks.

“I don’t know that they’ll meet,” Trump told reporters in Washington. “Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.”

Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has sought to broker peace, pressing both leaders to sit down for negotiations. Earlier this month, he hosted Putin in Alaska, and last week he met European leaders at the White House. Still, prospects for a summit remain distant.

“That’s going to be up to them,” Trump said. “It takes two to tango, I always say, and they should meet, I think, before I have a meeting and probably close the deal.”

Trump pointed to personal animosity between Putin and Zelenskyy as a major obstacle. “They do not exactly get on well,” he said. “There’s tremendous dislike personally between the two men, and we’re going to have to straighten that out, but I would like to see them meet first.”

The US president added that both leaders “would like me to be there,” but said he preferred they attempt to resolve differences on their own.

He acknowledged that resolving the conflict has been more difficult than he expected. “I thought this would be the easiest to settle, but strange things happen in war,” Trump said.

Following Zelensky’s Oval Office meeting with Trump last week, Putin said Moscow was prepared to raise bilateral negotiations to the foreign minister level. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told NBC on Friday there was still “no basis” for a direct Zelenskyy-Putin meeting given how far apart the sides remain.